Hide and Seek
by ECalvert
Summary: Bella and Jacob are best friends. They have graduated high school, and plan on going to the same college. But when Bella first visits campus, she notices someone... BxE/All human.
1. Surprises

...

I'm pretty sure I was aware in some part of my mind that I was having a nightmare, because I wasn't acting like myself, but I had no control over it. These days it's hard to tell if I'm dreaming or not. A lot of the time, my dreams feel like reality.

"You can't be serious," I told my mother. "Sharing a dorm _that_ small with three other people? I'm not usually one to complain, but—,"

"But we just can't afford an apartment for you right now," she cut me off. "You can't stay here while you're off at college, it's much too far away. Money is tight at the moment, and I don't see any other option, Isabella."

I held back a slight grimace. She only used my full first name when she wasn't happy. I knew I should be grateful for even getting to go to college, what with it being so expensive. But this couldn't be right. I wasn't a people person, I didn't even have that many friends. Having a roommate would be fine, but three?

In the midst of the argument, I woke up. I looked out my window, and the sun was in the middle of the sky. _Noon, perfect_, I thought to myself. I hated waking up this late, even during the summer.

I crawled out of bed and walked slowly walked downstairs to find my mother painting in the living room. Today the picture was abstract, different gorgeous shades of purples and blues. Ever since my mom moved to Forks during my senior year, she seemed to pick up random hobbies for a few days, and then move on. Last week she tried out yoga. She'd just started on painting this week. Maybe she was trying to preoccupy herself from the weather.

I stumbled over into the kitchen, and looked through the different boxes of cereal in the cabinet, suddenly aware of how hungry I was. I quickly chose one, and started pouring it into a bowl.

"Good news, Bella. Charlie helping pay for your first few apartment payments." She said distractedly, when she noticed I had come down. My eyes widened in shock. This was odd, especially after the nightmare I just had.

"Really? I, um… wow," I said between bites. I had no idea what to say. "He didn't have to do that, all I really want is a decent dorm, you know." I hated people buying me things, I felt awkward.

"You know he doesn't mind. When you were born, he put up that savings account for a reason. There's plenty of money in it, and he just wants to help. I'm not even sure if he'd take no for an answer," she said with a tinge of sarcasm. "Remember when you first moved to Forks, and he bought you that red truck? He didn't ask you then, either," She asked, looking back at me. I was almost sure I had a guilty expression on my face.

I sighed. Great, now I'd spend the next year or so trying to make up for this. I always felt the need to repay people when they bought me things. I had spent my entire junior year doing things trying to feel like I was earning the truck, even though Charlie swore it didn't cost much, since it came from Billy.

"Oh, you have a message by the phone. Jacob called."

My face instantly brightened up. I hadn't seen Jacob in a few days, I really missed him. I picked up the phone, dialed his number and waited for him to pick up, tapping my foot impatiently.

After a few rings, he answered. "It's about time," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"So, what's up? Any plans today?" I asked. I was itching to get out of the house. Ever since I had graduated high school, it seemed like I was always busy. And now that I wasn't, I just wanted to relax and have some fun before I had to leave home and start college. Knowing me I'd probably use all my time for reading and studying. I despised parties.

"Nope," he said with a smile in his voice. Honestly, he probably wanted to hang out as much as I did. "We haven't been down to the beach in a while, and the weather's actually nice today," he hinted.

And he was right, the fact that I could see sun outside my window when I woke up was amazing in itself. I

considered it. It was still wet from the light drizzle last night, so I'd probably slip at least once, but it was worth it. I loved La Push, everything was so peaceful there.

"Meet you there?" I asked, smiling. Then, I looked down at my pajamas and quickly added, "I'll be there in an hour."

I spent three hours on the reservation with Jacob and his friends, not doing anything in particular, just hanging out and talking, it was nice. It was like old times again, when I would come here nearly every day after school.

But once I noticed it getting dark, I reluctantly told Jake goodbye and that I'd call him soon, and started on my way home. I still needed to stop by the store and grab a few things to make dinner, since I was almost positive my mom was sick of getting take-out.

When I finally got home, it was starting to get dark and cloudy. I grabbed the grocery bag and walked up the driveway very carefully. I wasn't really in the mood for an emergency room visit tonight.

I quickly unlocked the door and walked inside at almost the exact same time it started sprinkling. _Nice timing_, I thought as my eyebrows wrinkled in surprise. My luck was usually horrible.

"Mom?" I called as I set my keys down on the table and flicked on the light switch.

"In here," Renee called from the kitchen.

I could smell fried rice wafting its way throughout the house. When I didn't cook, she usually just picked some up at a restraunt. My mom couldn't cook to save her life, so I wasn't really surprised to walk in and see her eating Chinese. She probably got hungry waiting for me to get home. At least I wouldn't have to cook tonight. I put the groceries in the cabinet, and grabbed a plate out of the cabinets and began shoveling fried rice on my plate.

"I told Charlie about how you felt about him helping out, by the way. I told you he wouldn't take no for an answer." She said, a bit smugly.

I shook my head. I knew she'd be right, but I could always hope. "Okay.. and?" I prompted her. Not in a rude way, I could just tell she was going somewhere with this.

"Well, He kind of already rented you a place," she said, shaking her head. "He said it's not big, and it really wasn't an inconvenience." She added the last sentence innocently.

I narrowed my eyes a little, then sighed and sat down into an empty chair at the table. First the truck, now the apartment. He knew me too well, that I wouldn't let him if he'd asked me, so he got it before I ever found out what he had planned. No point in arguing, when it was already a lost battle.

"He said he's been really busy at the station, for a change, but he gave me the address and the keys. You and Jake can drive down there tomorrow, and check it out," she said with a soft smile. "It's about a three hour drive, but I'm sure you and Jake can pass the time easily. I think you'll like the place."

I got a scholarship to the University of Oregon. Usually, I would have picked Arizona or California. Sunny places. Oregon was very nearly as rainy as Forks, the only difference is Oregon is famous for its indecisive weather. Rain, sun, and snow all in the same day sometimes. But Jacob got a scholarship there, too, and we always planned on going to the same college. And on the bright side, the scenery was gorgeous.

I considered giving in and looking at the place. Might as well get it over with, right? No point in disappointing anyone. My mouth tilted downward slightly. This would be… interesting.

* * *

**AN: This chapter is really, really short, and it's probably not very good. I just needed to start the story off and give it background. Constructive criticism, anyone?  
**


	2. The Beginning

I sighed and put my bags in Jacob's car, since they didn't think my truck could make it— I disagreed. I only had two, since I wasn't officially moving yet. We were just going down there for a few days. I'd come back for the official move after that.

"Ready?" Jacob called from the doorway. I nodded.

It only took us two and a half hours to get there with Jacob's fast driving. Renee was right though, the time flew by. Mostly we just talked, laughed and played road games. Sometimes it was so easy to be around Jake.

When we were finally getting relatively close to the school. I looked down at the directions. Charlie told me the apartment was within walking distance. "Umm.. pass the campus, and take the first left," I said it like a question. I'd never been good with directions.

Jacob laughed and took the sheet of paper from me, then raised an eyebrow. "Huh, he wasn't lying. This is actually really close. Hey, at least you don't have to worry about people staring at your truck for being so loud," he teased.

I glared at him. "Nothing is wrong with my truck." He just chuckled and continued driving.

We found the apartment complex fairly easily. I glanced around. It all _looked_ normal, not too pricey. Was I worrying for nothing?

"Okay, Bella. This is it," he said with a grin. He pointed to a door labeled 23A. "Let's check it!"

I took a deep breath. I didn't understand how he was excited. Maybe it was because it wasn't _his_ place. For a moment I wondered where he'd be staying, I'd have to remind myself to ask him about that later. I shrugged and started walking. With nervous hands, I turned the key and went inside.

It was worse that I imagined.

The kitchen was on the left when you walked in, but it was definitely not apartment-sized, it was a room in itself, not just sectioned off like most apartments. Along with everything else the refrigerator was white and, from the looks of it, expensive. The drawers and cabinets were also white, and completely spotless. I walked over slowly to the cabinets and opened them. Exactly what I expected.

Already completely filled with chips, boxes of macaroni and cheese and plenty of other snack foods that I probably wouldn't end up eating. I quickly shut the doors and continued looking.

The stove was a flat top model and black. Over it was a window-type area, minus the glass, where I could see into the living room. **(AN: I have no idea what this is called. Hopefully you know what I'm talking about.) **If it was possible, I think I was more shocked with what I saw in there.

I quickly walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. The room had been entirely furnished, complete with a tan leather reclining chair, which actually looked pretty comfortable; a small flat screen TV, which was steadily placed on the wall that was facing the chair; a couch that was a warm brown color; a small wooden desk in the corner; and a rug in the center of the room. The room was tied together nicely with a huge window to the right of the chair.

"Wow."

I had completely forgotten Jake's presence until he had spoken. "I know," I said, plopping down into the recliner. I couldn't resist. "What am I supposed to do with all this stuff?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. He was so carefree about everything, it was really bugging me. "It could come in handy when you have people over."

"I don't even know anyone here, aside from you!"

"Don't worry, Bells. It's not like you won't meet anyone here. And besides, I'm staying right down the hall." He tried to sound reassuring.

My eyes got as big as saucer plates, and I stood up. "He bought you an apartment, too?! Based off of this, you'd think he was rich! He's only a cop, and a small town cop at that! I don't see how he possibly—,"

"Hey, hey!" he cut off my little rant, putting both of his hands on my shoulders. "No, of course he didn't. I mean, I know Charlie likes me and all, but he'd never do that. Have you forgotten the job I had fixing cars a few months ago? It actually paid pretty well. Now all I have to do is get a part-time job to keep up with the rent."

I shook my head slowly and walked into the one bedroom. I was actually surprised that there weren't two. I sighed in relief and collapsed onto the full sized bed. This room looked normal, and not too overdone. One bed, one dresser and a small table beside the bed with a lamp and an alarm clock. I also made a mental note that there was enough space to the right of my bed to fit my small bookcase that was in my room at Renee's.

The curtains over the windows were very similar to the yellow lace curtains I had back home since I was born. I smiled a little. It looked like this is where I would be spending most of my time.

**--  
**

I woke up to the sound of my alarm beeping. Sleepily, I reached over to turn it off. When I opened my eyes, for a moment I forgot where I was.

Today I had planned to go to the campus and look around. I'd only seen a handful of decent pictures, so I wanted to get an idea of where everything was.

I threw on the typical jeans and a T-shirt and tied my hair back into a messy ponytail. Once I looked decent I grabbed my new keys, small purse and my rarely used cell phone and headed out the door.

I was relieved when I saw there was a sidewalk leading to the school, I'm sure with my luck I'd get hit by a car without it. Or at the very least trip on a rock or something.

Even though the year hadn't started, the school was buzzing with activity, plenty of people socializing. This was the hard part, I'd never been good at starting conversations. I always either didn't know what to say, or ended up making the other person feel awkward. I decided to ignore that fact now and deal with it when the time came.. whenever that time might be.

There was a specific table that caught my eye, even though most people were avoiding it. The table had a bunch of books on it, but in the very middle was Wuthering Heights, my favorite book. I thought I might as well go ahead and get a new copy, mine was almost falling apart from how many times I'd read it. And I never could find a decent bookstore anywhere close to Forks, so I never got a chance to replace my current copy.

"Excuse me," I began shyly. Blushing, of course. "How much is this book?" I pointed.

The man looked up from a magazine and vaguely said, "Umm.. free. It's on the reading list. Funded by the school." And he went back to his crossword puzzle.

"Thank you?" This was the exact opposite from my move to Washington. Everyone there stared at me for a while. Here, I was all but ignored. Not that I was complaining, of course. This was much less embarrassing.

I spotted Jake a few steps away from the table. I smiled and ran over. "I didn't know you'd be here today," I said, hugging him. It wasn't until then that I noticed that we weren't alone.

Standing next to him was a boy with bronze hair. An extremely handsome boy, if I was being honest with myself. I noticed that he was quite pale, about as pale as I was if not paler, and very tall. He looked out of place standing next to Jacob, they didn't even look like they ran with the same crowd.

I stepped away from Jake and extended my hand toward him and managed to smile say, "Umm, hi." I looked up into his eyes. They were a stunning shade of green. His eyes widened a tiny bit, then seemed to harden instantly.

He ignored my extended hand, and nodded. My eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and a bit of hurt, but I still didn't look away from his eyes. He smirked, the expression looking extremely sarcastic, and I dropped my eyes and blushed, yet again. I tried to calm myself and I looked at Jake. Nothing seemed to phase him, he still looked like nothing happened. Maybe I was just overreacting.

"I just stopped to ask directions, but I should be on my way now. My brother is waiting for me." He tilted his head to the left to gesture to, I'm guessing, his brother. He was much taller and more muscular. It was intimidating.

"Wait," I started, but he had already gotten far enough away that he probably couldn't hear me anymore. My shoulders dropped a little.

"Something wrong?" Jake asked, his eyebrows lifting. Clueless.

"No, of course not. Why would there be?" I tried to sound as convincing as I could. I knew I wasn't a good liar, though, so I decided to quickly change the subject. "Let's go get something to eat."

**--**  
(two days later)

It was the last day I had here before I went home to finish packing the rest of my stuff and, hopefully, retrieving my truck. I missed it.

Some how Jacob, being his happy-go-lucky self had already made friends here and was invited to some hangout tonight. He invited me, and though I desperately wanted to bow out, he was persistent. I felt bad about telling him I didn't want to go in the first place, since he wanted me to, but telling him I didn't want to hang out repeatedly? It was hard. I told myself I'd only stay for a while, then go back home and maybe sleep early. We had to leave in the morning so it'd probably be best if I was well rested.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I asked, sliding into the passenger seat of Jake's car.

"It's only like five minutes away," he replied. "Some Asian kid named Eric invited me." He laughed a little, but I could tell he wasn't trying to be offensive.

I whipped my head around and looked at him questioningly. I wondered if it was Eric Yorkie. I couldn't recall Jacob ever meeting him, so that would explain why he wouldn't know Eric. Well, I was right when I thought 'this would be interesting.' It was certainly turning out that way.

We pulled into a long driveway. The house itself wasn't too big, but it was pretty. I let Jake lead the way into the house, and I followed closely behind.

As soon as we had entered, I assumed that this wasn't Eric's house. Maybe his mom's house, since he lived with his dad and step mom in Forks.

There were various paintings framed on the wall, but somehow each matching the rest of the room. Candles were all over the living room and I guessed that they had recently been lit, since the entire room smelled like French Vanilla. The couches and chairs were all a warm tan color with faint traces of flowers on them. Hooked up to the TV was an xbox, which was the one thing that didn't seem to fit in with the rest.

However, there were four people already playing it, Eric being one of them, and a few others watching. Others were scattered around the room talking and eating snacks.

I looked up at Jacob skeptically. "Seriously?" I whispered. "How does this look fun? Are we in middle school again?"

But as soon as the words had escaped my mouth, I saw the one thing that made me want to stay. Over by the staircase, was the boy. I tried to build up all the courage I could. I knew I needed to confront him, or else it would bother me. Even though what I had to say probably wouldn't come out nearly as graceful as I wanted it to, I had to try.

I walked over to him slowly. I was sure that if I tripped, I would die of embarrassment. When I was halfway there he caught my eye, set his drink down and waited for me to get there.

"Our last introduction didn't work well, apparently." I sighed, and the sarcasm left me. "I'm Bella."

His eyes narrowed just a tiny bit, and all he said was, "Edward."

I closed my eyes. This was getting frustrating. "Well, um, it's nice to meet you, Edward," I said, opening my eyes and tried sounding friendly despite the frustration.

I looked at him again, only this time he didn't look quite as annoyed as before. His face had softened some, but the reason was unknown to me.

"I suppose," he said quietly. It almost sounded like he was talking to himself. He nodded politely, and walked gracefully over to where his brother and a gorgeous blonde was standing. Maybe he only associated with people that looked like they should be on the front of magazines? Well, it was worth a shot.

I walked over to Jake, nearly tripping over a power cord by the TV on the way. "I'm ready to go…" I trailed off.

"What?? But we just got here fifteen minutes ago!" he protested.

I gestured around with one hand. "What do you expect to do here? Like I said before, this doesn't look fun at all." With that said I walked hurriedly out the door, intending on Jacob to follow. And he did.

* * *

**AN: Hmm.. Edward made an appearance. I hope I didn't make it sound to rushed. Review?**


	3. Introductions

EPOV:

"Come on, man! I have a date with Rose later, just go and ask someone for directions. I have no idea which way we're supposed to be headed."

We'd arrived at the Oregon State University campus no longer than fifteen minutes ago, and Emmett was already anxious to leave. Typical. We had only been in the state itself for a week or so. Before this we lived in Alaska with Carlisle's family and close friends.

I pinched the bridge on my nose in between my thumb and forefinger.

"And who exactly would you like me to ask, Emmett?" I asked, irritated.

He carelessly turned in a full circle and pointed to a person at random. The boy he pointed was the only person there taller than Emmett himself. He tall, lean and looked Native American in a way.

He seemed to be alone for the moment, so I seized the opportunity, sighed in defeat and walked over. Not without shooting an icy glance over my shoulder at Emmett, though. All he did was smile.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. "Hello, my name is Edward Cullen." I decided to start out simple. "My brother and I are new in town, and we need to know which way the library is. We're supposed to be meeting someone."

The boy reached up to run a hand through his hair. Something in my tone of voice was making him slightly nervous, I always had this effect on people for some reason. "Sorry, I don't know. I was just here with my friend B—,"

Right about the time he was finishing his sentence he caught sight of something. Or someone, would be more precise. I looked over to see what he was so surprised by.

The girl had long, wavy mahogany hair that was swept back into a ponytail, and the most translucent, smooth skin I'd ever seen before. She didn't seem to obsess over fashion and makeup like most girls, but she didn't need to. She was… beautiful.

She seemed to be marveling over a book intently when she looked over noticed him. Then quickly, and very recklessly, ran over and hugged him like she hadn't seen him in years, entirely ignoring the fact that I was standing there. I wondered if they were dating, since they couldn't be related. Her skin was much too fair.

Instantly after I had the thought, I wondered why I had it in the first place. It wasn't my place to go meddling in stranger's lives.

"I didn't know you'd be here today," she told him, still caught up in the hug. Almost as soon as she said it, she seemed to suddenly notice me in her peripheral vision.

She stared for a minute before she extended a hand and stammered, "Umm, hi."

I was in no mood to shake hands, but I still had to be polite. Esme had raised me right, and for some godforsaken reason, I couldn't bring myself to ignore her completely. I settled with a nod.

"I just stopped to ask directions, but I should be on my way now. My brother is waiting for me." I gestured over to Emmett. This was safe, people usually left things alone when they first saw Emmett. They had no idea he was actually a happy, funny guy that usually meant no harm. All they saw was his muscular exterior.

I started walking as fast as I could, but not before I heard her shout for me to wait.

"Just call Rose and tell her to meet you in the parking lot. That would have been easier and more logical in the first place," I growled lowly, walking past Emmett.

"Something tells me that didn't go well?" He chuckled.

I glared at him and continued walking.

--

(two days later)

"Alright!" Alice exclaimed, flitting around the room. "We're leaving in five minutes and you're coming, Edward. You haven't been out of the house in ages." Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and she titled her head to the side. "And school related things don't count, either."

I raised an eyebrow. For someone so small and pixie-like, she was intensely energetic. "Why does it matter to you? You'll still have Em, Rose and Jasper."

Like that would matter.

"Because I know what's good for you. You need to get out, socialize. I can feel it." She smiled.

I looked at Jasper. "Any way of getting out of this?" My tone was hopeful.

He laughed, "Nope. If I can't get around it, you definitely can't. She'd probably just drag you there."

After making sure everyone's clothes were decent, Alice announced that we were leaving. I reluctantly headed out to get in my silver Volvo. If I was being forced to go out, I was doing it under my conditions. Thankfully, no one protested. They were used to me driving them places, anyway.

We only lived a few streets over from where the party was, which I still had no idea whose it was in the first place, Alice instructed me where to go. We got there before most people showed up, so everything was, for the most part, lifeless. The majority of the people were either crowded around the TV or scattered, mostly in twos, throughout the house.

Alice and Jasper had disappeared to the backyard as soon as we'd arrived, which I thought was ironic. She was the one, after all, that mentioned how important it was to socialize. Emmett and Rose had wandered off into the kitchen. He'd probably gotten hungry, and Rosalie follows him everywhere. So, I was alone, standing by a table to the side of the staircase.

People began filling the room slowly, and the pointless chatter began. For a split second, I thought about leaving the four of them here. They probably wouldn't miss me until the party was over. This was pure monotony.

A kid with straight black hair and olive-toned skin came up and cheerfully asked, "Hey! Don't I know you?"

I shrugged, uninterested. He didn't look familiar to me. "Do you?"

"Eric Yorkie? Ring any bells?"

I gave him a look that I was sure conveyed that I thought he'd lost it, "Not that I know of."

His expression fell, and his eyebrows wrinkled. After a moment he was back to normal, all signs of our brief conversation gone, and he went to join in on the video games.

I set my cup down on the table and looked around to see if I could see Emmett anywhere. He had to be around here somewhere. Maybe I could persuade him to leave. Challenging him to a wrestling match should do the trick, I could probably get Jasper to join, as well. If I had to, I'd offer to take Alice shopping, just so long as I got out of here. I continued my search.

Then I spotted someone. The girl from the campus. She was here, and she had seen me. She was standing by the front door looking unimpressed. Once again, with her "friend."

Her expression puzzled me. It seemed to be determined, wary, hopeful and angry all at the same time. Her shoulders were back, and she walked toward me slowly, like she was being cautious of something. This didn't make sense to me, but I kept my expression smooth. I stood and waited to hear what she had to say.

"Our last introduction didn't work well, apparently. I'm Bella." She sighed and all the anger and determination was wiped away from her expression. Wary and hopeful remained.

My eyes narrowed. Why was she deciding to notice me now? Besides, the last thing I needed was to get in the middle of another relationship. Once was more than enough. I shuddered away from one particular memory.

"Edward," was all I replied with. It came out more icily than I had intended.

Her eyes closed slowly. "Well, um, it's nice to meet you, Edward," she said, trying to make small talk, I assumed. Her eyes opened then. That was the first time I noticed her warm, chocolate brown eyes staring back at me. They were so deep, and somehow sincere. Oddly not dull and flat, like most brown eyes. They were set behind a fringe of full, dark lashes. I was momentarily mesmerized.

_Damn it, Edward. Stop it. Didn't you learn your lesson already?_

"I suppose," I whispered softly, both in reply to Bella and my thoughts. I turned around then and walked in the opposite direction, when I realized I was walking toward Emmett and Rose.

* * *

**AN: Okay, keep in mind that I haven't written in Edward's POV much at all. Review and let me know!**


	4. The Restaurant

**AN: Two updates in one day. I feel accomplished. Anyway, just to clear things up: Edward, Alice and Emmett are siblings. Rosalie and Jasper are twins. Just thought I'd mention that, since I didn't in the last chapter.**

* * *

"Aw, mom. Come on, I'm only going to be a few hours away! And I'll come home every holiday, and you can call me anytime, you know that," I reassured Renee. Her eyes were quickly filling up with tears, nearly overflowing.

"Are you sure you didn't leave anything, honey? You know, you could always stay home one more night. If you left anything, it'd be awful." She'd been trying to make excuses for me to stay ever since I got home. I bet if Charlie hadn't already gotten me a place, she'd try to convince me to go to college here.

"Mom, I'll be fine. Trust me." I smiled and gave her a huge hug. I looked over at Charlie. "I'll miss you, Dad!" I hugged him, as well.

"Oh, well uh. I'll miss you, too, Bells." His face flushed. He didn't like voicing his emotions.

I got in my truck and turned the key, the loud roar making me jump slightly. Waving, I backed out of the driveway carefully. Tears were finally rolling down Renee's cheeks. I had to look away quickly, unless I wanted to cry, too.

The drive without Jacob was much less enjoyable. It gave me too much time to think about Edward. What the hell was his problem? Why did he seem so irritated by me? Did I do something to offend him? Was I right when I thought that he only hung out with attractive people? No, that couldn't be right, he didn't seem like the shallow type. Was he? My head continued to swirl with questions that were left unanswered.

I tried focusing all my attention on driving. The cars, license plates, speed limit signs on the side of the road. But somehow within minutes I had related it back to Edward. I wondered what car he drove, and what his license plate number might be. If he usually went the speed limit, or if he liked to speed.

After an agonizing three hours, due to my truck only going 55 miles an hour tops, I made it to the city limits. I started to turn on my road when an oncoming car was speeding and swerved to avoid crashing into my truck. It startled me, but when I looked to see what kind of car it was, it had already sped down to the end of the street and turned the corner.

"Smart move," I muttered. Anything that hit this tank would probably come out looking like a pretzel.

I shook my head and continued driving. Slower now, though. I didn't want to be the cause of any accidents today.

Shrugging a light jacket on, and turning the car off, I headed inside.

I opened the apartment door to find Jake lounging on my couch and eating some Doritos he found in the cabinet. That was unexpected. Did I give him a key?

"Geez, Jake. Way to almost give me a heart attack," I said, putting a box down. "Help me unload the truck. I'm not sure if I can lift those boxes."

He laughed. "It's because you're so small."

I shot him a look and started walking towards the door. "Have you gotten your things set up at your place yet?" I asked, glancing down the hall toward his door.

"Pretty much. I didn't bring much stuff from home, so it's kind of plain." He shrugged. "Your place is a lot better."

"In _your_ opinion," I muttered.

It only took Jacob two trips to get the heavy boxes. _Show off_, I thought. Ever since he'd turned sixteen, he'd been one of the most muscular guys in La Push.

"Let's go get some dinner. Those chips aren't very filling."

"Fine by me. You and your appetite." I shook my head, but didn't complain. I had been too nervous to eat this morning. Leaving home was stressful.

I grabbed my keys and dangled them in the air and smiled. "I'm driving, though."

"Ugh, I'd like to get there before sunrise," he complained.

I frowned at him. "There's a really good place fifteen minutes from here! My truck isn't _that_ slow."

--

"I'll have.. three cheeseburgers," Jacob ordered. I rolled my eyes. We go to an actual restaurant, and he orders something that he could have gotten at a fast-food place.

"And you, miss?" The waiter asked politely, probably hoping we would give him a good tip.

I glanced down at the menu. "Umm, I'll just have some soup, thank you."

He swiftly picked up our menus and walked toward the back.

"Ready for the big day Monday?" Jacob asked, taking a breadstick from the middle of the table and breaking it in half.

At first I wasn't sure what he was talking about, then replied, "Oh! School, right. I haven't given it much thought.." I trailed off.

It was true, I hadn't. I'd been too preoccupied by other things. Monday was so close, and it was such an important day. I couldn't believe I hadn't been stressing over it by now.

He took a bite of his bread. "Really? I haven't been able to get it out of my head."

I knew the feeling. Only, it wasn't school I was thinking about.

The waiter arrived right on cue, with Jacob's massive cheeseburgers, but I knew he could eat them without any trouble. My soup came at the same time, with crackers. For a while, it was quiet. Just the sounds of chewing and the occasional tap of my spoon against the ceramic bowl.

I lifted my head up to take a sip of my drink, and I glanced around the restaurant. I looked toward the front and saw a flash of the bronze colored hair I remembered so well, and blinked. As soon as I blinked, it was gone.

My eyebrows furrowed. I pretended to drop my napkin so I could stand up to see over toward the check in desk. Nothing.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Jacob's voice. "Bells? You okay?"

I quickly looked at him, bent down to pick my napkin up and sat down. "Yeah! I'm fine." I went for cheerful, but I wasn't sure why. It seemed like a good idea until I'd actually said something.

He narrowed his eyes and tried looking the same direction I had been looking, then looked back at me still suspicious. "You didn't look fine."

I shrugged and continued eating. "I just thought I saw someone, that's all," I answered casually.

Was I really that obsessed that I was seeing things? I had only seen him twice, but I was still curious. My mind needed to quit playing tricks on me.

--

EPOV:

"I got you a present! Oh, you'll love it. I was walking through the mall last night and I saw this amazing ivory jacket. I thought it would suit you." Alice smiled.

I feigned happiness and smiled back at her. "Hmm, did you? That's very generous of you." _Not surprising, though_, I added mentally. I wondered what she wanted. My mind came up blank, and I shoved the thought aside.

Alice adjusted and readjusted the dials on my radio, then gave up and rummaged through the CD's I kept in the glove compartment. "Edward, most of the music you listen to is so depressing. Is that why you're always so cranky?"

Since when is classical depressing? I sighed quickly and glared at the road. Her cheerfulness usually wasn't a bad thing, but for the past week, it had nearly driven me mad.

I was coming close to turning a corner when an unbearably loud truck turned in front of me. It looked almost twice as old as I was, it was red and covered in rust. The age also explained the loud engine. I'd thought most of those trucks had stopped running by now.

Before the driver realized what was happening, I got a glimpse of their face. I looked closer and my eyes widened with shock. She had her blinker on and seemed to be turning into an apartment complex. I was sure she couldn't see me since my windows were tinted, but I still swerved and sped down the end of the street, even faster than usual, and turned the corner continuing to speed.

"Damn," I said under my breath.

"What was that?" Alice asked, alarmed.

I looked over at her innocently. "Didn't want to ruin the paint job."

She just shrugged and looked out the window, not seeming to care what the answer was. "If you say so. I won't object to you speeding, either. The faster you drive the quicker we get home, and the sooner we get home the sooner I get to show you your new jacket." She looked satisfied with her conclusion.

I considered going slower, but new there was no use. Alice barely let us wear anything twice as it was, and if she had something in mind, I was going to get the jacket whether I liked it or not.

I sped through our long, winding driveway and came to a quick halt, precisely in my parking spot right next to Emmett's monstrous red jeep.

"Move faster!" Alice insisted, pulling my arm, practically dragging me up the steps.

The moment I hit the doorstep she dashed up the stairs with more speed than even I thought was possible. I heard a few doors open and shut and within less than a minute, she was down the stairs and holding a hanger with a protective slip over it. She handed it out to me with an enormous smile.

I gave up, and took the coat from her. Swiftly removing the slip I took it off the hanger and looked at it, shocked. Surprisingly, I loved it. My smile began to mirror Alice's.

"Thank you, Alice. I love it. Really," I said honestly.

She nodded, "Of course you do. Now here's the thing," she began.

I knew it.

"I think we should go to dinner tonight. Jasper and Emmett are off at a football game, and Rose is working tonight," she pouted.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine." It wasn't like I had anything to do in the first place. Since the move here, a normal night consisted of books and my vast music collection. Not that I had a problem with it, though Alice certainly seemed to.

"Couldn't you have told me this in the car? We just got home and it's nearly," I looked down at my watch. "Seven o'clock. We could have been there by now."

"Well, I couldn't go out to eat with you in that jacket," she gestured toward the casual pullover I had on. "You've had it for almost a month, and I never even liked it to begin with. I'm surprised I haven't replaced it yet."

She skipped toward the car and was in and buckled before I even got to my door. I slid onto the smooth leather interior of the driver's seat while she was adjusting the music again.

We drove in silence, aside from the constant beat of the techno music Alice had put in. "Since when do you listen to techno?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Since about a week or two ago. Where have you been?"

"Avoiding you?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up, Edward. Turn here," she directed.

I did as she said, and conveniently there was a parking space open right near the front entrance. The place itself was small, but it looked promising. "I don't believe eaten here yet, what kind of food is it?"

"The edible kind," she snorted. When I gave her a hard look, she rolled her eyes. "It's Italian. Probably the best in the state, located ten minutes from our house." She stated proudly. "I came across it when I was driving around, exploring."

I nodded. At least the food would be good.

We walked up the side walk, and I held the door open for her. The inside of the restaurant.

She walked up to the table and was talking animatedly, probably trying to get us a booth while I looked around the place, judging the decoration. I scanned all the tables, looking to see which ones were available, and which one I'd want to sit at, when my eyes ran across the table that Bella was sitting at.

She put her fork down and reached for her glass and began drinking it, and her eyes glanced up. I instinctively took a step back, making sure the wall hid me.

Twice in one day?

"Alice!" I whispered.

She looked back at me looking slightly annoyed. She threw her purse back over her shoulder and held a finger up to the waitress, saying she'd be back in a moment.

"What are you doing? You look like you're hiding, for heavens sakes," she said.

I took hold of her arm, and led her out the door. "We can go pick up food at the store or even order a pizza, but we are _not_ eating here." I said firmly. Noticing her expression fall, I added, "Not tonight at least." I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

I then got in the car, and as soon as she was in drove out of the parking lot without explanation.

--

BPOV:

I found myself laying in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about tonight. What if Edward had been there? I wondered what he would have said. Maybe he would've ignored me, and I would have made the first move to talk to him, yet again.

But I didn't know.

I gazed at the clock, which read 11:30PM. I'd spent most of the night, after dinner, unpacking my clothes. Tomorrow was Sunday, and I would use that time to get things ready for Monday and unpack the rest of the junk I brought. I was contemplating what I had to do, when I finally drifted off into unconsciousness.

_The lighting was dark and I was in a closed area. I blinked and looked around, trying to define where I was. I wasn't familiar with this place, it seemed to be in a maze of some sort. _(**AN: If you will, picture the maze in the fourth Harry Potter movie. That works.**)

_I walked through path after path, never able to find the right one. Right as I was about to give up, I saw something flash out of the corner of my eye. I stood up and looked in the general direction it came from, curious, and saw a glimpse of bronze hair. My mood changed instantly to hopeful, maybe Edward knew where we were._

_I ran toward the direction, but when I rounded the corner, I saw nothing. To my right, I saw the flash again. I sprinted faster this time, desperately wanting to catch up to him. This time when I turned the corner, I saw the edge of his jacket fly behind him, turning yet another corner. I continued this pace for an immeasurable amount of time, it could have been hours, but I could never catch up to him._

I woke up with a gasp and sat up quickly, a light sweat had formed across my face.I needed to get a grip.

I looked over at the clock for a second time. 2AM. Great.

Deciding I needed a drink, I walked down the hall and into my kitchen. As soon as I began pouring some milk, I had the feeling that I wasn't alone, that I was being watched. I looked from the door to the window, the blinds were closed.

I marked the feeling off as leftover paranoia from the nightmare I just had, and walked back to my room.


	5. Alice

"You can do this. You can do this," I repeated to myself. I only had two classes today, but it was enough to make my nerves finally catch up. My first class was in twenty minutes and I was still in my room talking to myself.

There was a strong knock coming from the front door. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath trying to calm myself down.

"Hey, Bells!" Jacob said with a big grin, when I had opened the door. For a split second, I felt jealous. Why wasn't he nervous? Hadn't he just said the other night at dinner that he couldn't stop thinking about it?

He looked down at a sheet of paper and his face fell slightly. "We don't have any classes together today."

I felt my face fall, too.

"No worries, though," he said with a shrug. "We have one tomorrow."

That didn't help me on the first day. Everything was new here, and I didn't know anyone. It would have been comforting to have something familiar nearby.

"All right, let's go," I said, my voice breaking slightly.

We walked along the sidewalk in complete silence. Jacob must have sensed the tension, because he usually never shut up. Not that it was a bad thing. It kept me interested and, most of the time, cheered me up.

I suddenly wished our apartments were further away, this walk was much too short. We got there in under five minutes, even with my slow walking.

Today the weather was unusually nice. Warm and sunny, with a slight breeze. On a normal day, this would have made me extremely happy and I would've used any excuse to do something outside. Today, it didn't match my mood at all. Maybe later today it would still be warm and I could enjoy it.

Jacob stopped and then turned to face me. "You sure you know where everything is?"

I smiled a little and waved my map at him. "Yep. All good."

He gave me a quick hug and a small pat on the head and said, "Have a good day." Apparently he was trying to make me feel like I was nine again.

My first class flew by quickly and for the most part, painlessly. Mostly it consisted of an introduction, a short lecture, and plenty of notes. I was thinking I'd have to buy more paper.

Once the class was dismissed, I had thirty minutes before my next class started, so I decided to sit on a bench out front and try to relax and enjoy the warmth before the sun disappeared behind some clouds.

I brought out my new Wuthering Heights copy, figuring it needed some breaking in. I was only on chapter 2 where Mr. Lockwood had just returned to Wuthering Heights, when I saw a shadow from someone standing in front of me.

The girl looked around my age but small, shorter than even me, with spiky, black hair. Her lips were curved up into a smile, and her dark eyes were bright with excitement.

"Hi! I'm Alice," she said cheerfully.

I couldn't help but smile back. Her happiness was contagious. "I'm Bella, nice to meet you."

I expected a handshake or maybe even a wave, but she surprised me by catching me in a full hug. She was surprisingly bold and strong for her dainty appearance.

"Nice to meet you, too," she said, pulling away. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Umm, nothing," I said. I stuck with honesty, there was no point in lying.

"That's what I thought. Are you new here?"

I nodded.

She smiled even more. "I am, too. Which explains my lack of plans. You want to do something? We could go get coffee or hang out at your place. Or mine, if you prefer."

I wrinkled my nose. I'd never been one for coffee and I definitely didn't want to bring anyone to my place. I considered it. At least I'd made a friend here. "I'd rather go to yours."

She nodded, seeming satisfied with this and smiled. "Where are you off to next?"

I handed her my schedule. "English lit. Only one more class today, and I'm done," I said, the relief in my voice clear.

Her eyes got even brighter, if that were possible. "Really? I have the same class."

Our next class passed in the same fashion as my first, the only difference being that this lecture had been longer, and I actually enjoyed English. I had a feeling most of them would be similar, for the next couple of days at least.

"This way!" Alice directed me toward a silver Volvo, when we had made our way out toward the parking lot. "I borrowed my brother's car today, since he doesn't have any classes until tomorrow. I still don't have a car, yet."

I quickly got into the car and buckled the seat belt and Alice drove out of the parking lot.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" she asked.

When I thought about it, I really didn't listen to music that much. But if I told her that, she'd probably think I was crazy. "I'm okay with most music. Rock might be my favorite," I paused. "Or maybe classical. I think I listen to that more."

Alice shook her head, eyes still trained on the road. "You and my brother would probably get along. Most of what he listens to is classical." She gestured to a bunch of CDs neatly placed under the CD player.

I took it that she didn't like it. "What do you listen to?"

She shrugged. "Whatever fits my mood at the moment."

So, my guess would be pop.

I looked out the window to see where we were. We had started going down a winding driveway with full green forest on either side, it seemed. The trees made a nice shade that tinted the lighting in the area green. As much as I loved the sun, I had to admit it was pretty.

She slowed down and parked the car right in between a black Mercedes and a red, muddy jeep larger than I'd ever seen before. There was also a red convertible parked off to the side.

She got out quickly, and I followed her up the sidewalk, admiring the house. It looked old, but not in the bad way. Like it belonged in a different world almost. It was mostly white, with more windows than I could count, and it looked to have at least two levels, if not three.

"We're here," Alice said smiling and pulling me through the door.

To the right of the door was a staircase, and straight ahead was the living room that looked expensive. White couch, plasma TV. I suddenly didn't feel so bad about my apartment.

"Anyone home?" She called loudly.

"Up here," a female voice called from upstairs about the same time as a blond man who looked about thirty or so walked out from what appeared to be the kitchen.

"Hey, dad. This is Bella." You could practically hear the excitement in her voice.

He smiled at me and extended his hand. "Call me Carlisle. Welcome, Bella."

"Thank you," I said, shaking his hand. I was nervous, obviously from my lack of words.

"Okay, come on. I have people for you to meet." Alice took a light hold on my wrist and led me upstairs.

The hallway was just as interesting as the outside and the first floor. Several different pictures hung on the white walls, each one unique. I wondered if there was any significance.

We walked into a large room with golden walls, and carpet in a lighter shade to match. In it was a large king sized bed, a black leather couch, shelves upon shelves of CDs. The gorgeous blonde I'd seen at the party and Emmett were sitting in the middle of the floor, and a blond boy sitting on the couch. None of this, of course, is what made me freeze on the spot.

Sitting in the middle of the huge bed was Edward. When we came in, he was staring down at his hands, but when he heard us come in, he looked up. He was even more gorgeous than I remembered.

His expression was hard for me to read, though. It looked like he was caught off guard, but also it looked like he was guilty. I had no idea, why, though.

"Bella, meet Emmett, Edward Rosalie, and Jasper," she said, pointing to each of them. "Rose and Jasper are twins, obviously."

And it was obvious. They had the same golden blonde hair, similar hazel eyes, and they were both extremely gorgeous.

I waved, not sure what to do next.

Edward swiftly moved off the bed and walked over to us. He smiled at me, which I wasn't expecting. Then, dropping his head to Alice's level, he whispered, "Can I speak to you out in the hall, please?"

"Sure. I'll be right back, Bella. Make yourself at home," she said to me.

--

EPOV:

"Alice, what is _that_?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down. I couldn't help it, I'd spent all this time trying to make sure I didn't run into Bella, and mess up everything, and Alice brings her home. What on earth was she thinking?

Alice's eyes widened and then narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

I pointed toward the door.

"Bella? You know her?"

"I think we've talked briefly…," I trailed off. That was an understatement.

"Edward, what's going on?" she demanded.

I sighed. "I just can't be around her," I said vaguely. When she started tapping her foot and glaring at me, I unwillingly added, "She has a boyfriend." I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

Her eyes widened once again, but this time in understanding. "You _like_ her?" There was shock in her voice.

What? Bella? Did I?

I was stunned. I'd never given it much thought.

"No, I couldn't possib—,"

"I can see it written out on your face, so don't even try making an excuse," she stated plainly. "Well, go talk to her!"

I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. She wanted to help, Alice lived for situations like this. I should have kept my thoughts to myself and figured out what to do on my own. I'd never hear the end of it now.

"Remember Tanya?" I asked, not hiding my annoyance anymore.

She rolled her eyes. "That was two years ago, Edward. You can't keep hanging onto that." She stopped and seemed to realize something suddenly. "How do you know she has a boyfriend? She hasn't mentioned anything to me."

"Every time I see her, she's been with the same guy. And they aren't related." I could hear the sadness in my tone and I worked to keep it light.

"Your logic sucks. Just talk to her."

What if I screwed things up? Or worse, what if I was right?

I gave in, but I was going to kill Alice if this ended badly.

I walked back through the door, finding Bella leaning against the edge of the bed, seeming to be in light conversation with Emmett. As soon as she saw that I'd come back in she stood straight up. She looked nervous.

I walked over to where she was standing and offered her my hand with a warm smile. Maybe I could erase the damage I'd done, making her forget how I'd acted.

Her eyes widened and her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. She seemed so stunned that she didn't even notice my hand, so I motioned for her to follow me.

Carlisle and Esme had told me earlier that they had reservations for dinner, so they would be gone for most of the night, meaning the downstairs was completely empty.

I looked back to make sure she was following, which she was, then led the way into the kitchen. She still looked confused and even a little afraid, and I hated it. I didn't want her to be nervous or afraid around me. But it was my fault she was, so I had to fix it.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" I asked, trying to be polite.

She shook her head.

I picked up an apple and was about to bite into it, when she asked, "What exactly brought this on? Aren't you supposed to be avoiding me?"

I frowned and put the apple back down. "Do you not want to be here?" I asked.

She straightened up quickly. "No, no! I was just, I mean," she seemed to have trouble deciding what to say. She took a deep breath and continued. "So, I hear you have classes tomorrow?"

I smiled. She wasn't good at small talk. "Yes, three."

She nodded, apparently giving up on the subject.

"Bella," I began. Her head shot up as if she was surprised I said her name. "I want to apologize. I acted rudely, and you didn't deserve it. The situation was just too," I paused for a minute, choosing my words carefully. "Familiar, perhaps."

"Oh," was all she replied with.

Neither of us said anything for a minute or so. She kept looking down at her hands and around the room, and I looked at her. Despite the awkwardness before, this was somehow a comfortable silence.

I wanted to ask her if she'd like to go to dinner, or maybe lunch. But what if she declined and confirmed my thoughts?

"Bella!" Alice said, walking in the room. "You left your phone upstairs. It rang three times, so I figured it was important." She looked at me with a guilty expression.

Bella took the phone from Alice, clicked a button and put it to her ear, listening to a voice mail, most likely. Then frowned and said, "Crap. That was my best friend, I have to go."

I frowned with her, then something hit me. "Best friend?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. His name's Jacob. He locked himself out of his apartment, and I have the only spare key," she explained, rolling her eyes.

I tried to hold back a smile. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but there was still doubt in the back of my head. One of them probably had feelings for the other, as that was how things usually worked.

"Umm," she hesitated. "Alice drove me here, so I don't have my truck here."

"I—," Alice started, before I cut her off.

"I'd be happy to take you home," I said with a smile.

Once we were in the car, I decided to go for it before I had a chance to change my mind.

"Bella, would you consider going to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

* * *

**AN: Hm, I'm not too sure I'm happy with this chapter for some reason. The next chapter should be much better. And the class parts are really vague because I'm obviously not in college, haha. Review? :)**


	6. Dinner and the Field

"_Bella, would you consider going to dinner with me tomorrow night?"_

I felt the shock cross my face. I couldn't form any audible words.

It didn't make any sense. A few days ago he wouldn't give me the time of day. He did everything possible to avoid all conversation. Of course, it was entirely possible that my over-active imagination had intensified his cold glares and short responses, but I didn't think I'd been that far off the mark. Today he has a sudden change of heart once he talks to Alice?

Alice.

I quickly noticed that he was waiting for an answer and finally made my mouth form a sentence, even if it was a bit shaky. "_What_?" I asked quietly. "Did Alice put you up to this? You didn't have to listen to her if she did."

He looked disappointed then his expression became confused.

"Alice didn't ask me anything."

Oh. I blushed immediately, and was grateful that it was nighttime, so he couldn't see my embarrassment.

"So, is that a no?" His usual confident, strong tone turned wary and he turned to face the road again. "I understand."

"No, wait. I'd love to go to dinner with you. Really," I smiled, probably looking like a complete idiot.

I looked over at him to see a slight smile cross his lips.

The rest of the car ride we seemed to just talk about each other's interests. I asked what kind of music he liked, even though I already knew. I wanted more specific answers. He asked me what my favorite books were, and he laughed at how many times I'd read some of them.

"Is that what you were doing the first time I saw you? You seemed to captivated by the book, but I couldn't tell why."

I nodded sheepishly. "I've read that one the most. The reason I got it was because my original copy is falling to pieces."

He let out a loud laugh, the sound was glorious. "We're here."

I looked at him, puzzled. "How did you know where I live?"

"I—," he started, before his cell phone rang. Text message. "That was Rose. I need to go. Tomorrow night?"

I nodded and went to open the door.

"Goodnight," he said with a big smile across his face.

I was still in a daze walking up the stairs to my apartment, I couldn't think straight. I made myself focus before I tripped over my own feet and hurt myself. I shook my head trying to clear it, but despite my efforts, I still managed to stumble on the first stair.

"It's about time." Jake's voice came from the top of the staircase. "It took you ages, I was beginning to think you weren't even coming. Who was that?"

"I, oh. No one," I said, reaching the top stair. "Just someone I met… recently."

His expression brightened. "See? I told you that you wouldn't have any trouble meeting anyone. Everyone back home loves you, you know. Remember that Mike kid?" He laughed shortly and I saw a flicker of something cross his face, but before I could decide what it was, it disappeared.

"You always say that, but I disagree," I shook my head and handed him the key. "Here. Try not to lock yourself out again, okay? I'm going to take a shower and sleep early. I'm exhausted," I said as a yawn came out, exactly on cue.

--

I was putting up the rest of my clothes that I had missed when my phone rang. It wasn't a number I knew, but I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" a high-pitched voice asked.

"Alice?"

"Mhm, it's me. So, I have a favor to ask you."

"Sure, anything, Alice."

"I know you're going out to dinner with my brother tonight, which I find really exciting." I imagined her bouncing up and down as she was talking to me. "But, what would you say to me giving you a makeover for the night?" she asked, hopefully.

I sighed. I really hated things like this, but I really liked Alice. I didn't want to offend her, so I said, "Um, I guess. Not over the top, though, okay?" I sounded scared.

She laughed, "No, Bella. Of course not. I'll be over soon!"

Alice arrived within five minutes, with a small bag in her hand. Apparently she was eager.

She sat me down in front of a mirror, with my back facing it so I couldn't see myself. It felt like hours that she was curling with my hair, styling it, putting makeup on my face and so on. I began to regret my consent, I felt like a life-sized barbie doll. I didn't know how much more of this I could handle.

"Done!" she exclaimed proudly. "Wait, don't move," she said, putting her index finger to her chin.

After a moment, she danced off to the car to retrieve something, and I waited. She didn't have to worry about me looking in the mirror, because I was too afraid as it was.

She came back holding a dress, and handed it to me.

Without looking at it, I said, "Really, Alice? I thought I said not over the top. This is definitely considered over the top."

She narrowed her eyes, then pouted. "Please, Bella?"

I sighed. People had always been able to guilt me into things, it was my weak spot.

Still not looking at the dress, I put it on, earning an enormous smile from Alice when she saw it.

I slowly turned around and looked at myself in the full length mirror, not entirely sure what to think. My hair was down, forming soft brown waves down my shoulders, and the dress was a dark blue, sleeveless, and came up right above my knee.

I didn't even look like myself.

"Wow," was all I could manage to say.

"Of course. Edward will have the same reaction. Speaking of Edward, I should probably get going. I don't want him to see me here. Call me as soon as you get home!" And with that, she was out the door.

I figured since she left, I could wear whatever shoes I pleased. I went to my room and looked at the bottom of my closet which was surprisingly still clean, and picked out my low top black converses. Alice would absolutely murder me if she knew I was wearing these. I imagined this and smiled.

I walked out to the living room, sat down carefully on the couch and wondered what the night would be like. Would he take me to a fancy place, or would it be a casual place? If that were the case, I was overdressed. I'd look stupid.

I was considering marching right back in my room and changing when a soft knock came from the door.

I nearly tripped over the rug in my rush to answer it. The door came open much easier than I expected it to, so it flew open. Edward smirked.

He looked absolutely flawless. His green eyes, untidy bronze hair, pale skin and sharp features were all complemented by a black button down shirt, black pants and a dark blue tie that matched the color of my dress, coincidentally. I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect.

"Impatient, are we?" he stopped short and seemed to notice what I was wearing. He looked me up and down, and his eyes widened, perplexed. "Bella, you're beautiful."

I blushed, noticing how he said 'you're beautiful,' instead of 'you look beautiful.'

"Not quite. Alice," I said, looking down. I figured that was all I needed to say to explain.

He nodded. "I guessed as much. When I saw Rose's red M3 pass me on the road, I knew it wasn't Rose in the car. She's off with Emmett today. Doesn't change anything. I thought the same thing when I first saw you at school," he admitted, offering me his hand.

I placed my hand in his, and smiled. It felt… _right_. No matter how cheesy that sounded, it was true.

"So where are we headed Mr.," I trailed off, only now realizing that I had no idea what his last name was.

"Cullen," he finished for me. "And I'm not saying. It's a surprise." His eyes lit up.

He walked me to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for me, not letting go of my hand until I was in. When he did let go, I was suddenly aware of how cold it was, and shivered.

He chuckled, and turned on the heat once he was in the car.

"I'm sorry, I'm surprised Alice didn't give you a jacket. Here," He said, handing me a tan jacket that was in the back seat.

"No, I'm f-fine."

He looked at me, unconvinced. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine."

I put on the jacket, which was big. It smelled heavenly, though. That was probably the only thing keeping me from protesting further.

We pulled into the little Italian restaurant that Jake and I had eaten at a few days ago, and I tried to hide that fact. Eating here with Edward would be more exciting anyway.

I winced as soon as I thought that. I'd only known Edward a few days, Jake had been in my life ever since I'd moved to Forks.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of my door opening. Edward offered his hand again, and I happily responded.

When we were inside, the waiter led us to a table, but Edward stopped and pointed to a table, I was shocked when I realized it was the exact same table that Jacob and I had been sitting at.

"Would it be possible for us to sit at that one?"

"Uh, sure," the waiter replied, sounding bored.

Edward, of course, pulled out the chair for me before taking his place at the seat across from me. He was smiling, and trying to hold back a laugh. I felt like I was missing an inside joke.

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'll have a coke," Edward said, then looked at me.

"I'll have the same," I said quietly.

"Two cokes coming up." The waiter dashed off.

He was back sooner than I'd thought, with both cokes and a basket of fresh breadsticks. They smelled wonderful. My stomach growled so loudly that it was embarrassing.

"All right. Ready to order?"

Edward didn't even look at his menu. "I'll just have pasta, thank you."

The waiter scribbled it down on his pad and said, "And you, Miss?"

I glanced down at the menu and picked the first think I saw. "Umm, mushroom ravioli?" It sounded like a question.

"Okay, it should be ready soon," and he dashed off once more.

"So, are you going to tell me the reason behind the sudden change? I mean, from hating me, to asking me out to dinner."

His eyes dropped and his mouth pressed into a straight line.

"You don't have to tell me," I added quickly.

"No, I think I do," he sighed. "It all started back when my father, Carlisle, decided we should move to Alaska a couple of years ago. He had relatives and close friends there, and thought a fresh start would be nice. All was well, for the most part. Until I met Tanya.

"Tanya's mother was one of the people that was close with Carlisle, so I saw her a lot. One thing led to another, and I thought I was falling for her, which she was well aware of. But a very long story short, she'd used me for entertainment, and she had been in a relationship the entire time, she just didn't think to let me in on that little bit of information," he said sarcastically. He shook his head. "I probably sound ridiculous. But it affected everything, and I haven't been with anyone since."

I was at a loss for words. I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hurt him. Or giving him up, for that matter.

"That's horrible," I whispered. I still had no idea what to say.

"How that relates to you is," he continued after a minute, "you and that Jacob boy were always together every time I saw you. I assumed you were together."

"Really? Jake and I have been friends ever since I moved to Washington my junior year in high school," I explained. "Nothing more."

A smile formed on his lips, and I couldn't help but smile, too. The picture was just too beautiful.

Our dinner came on cue, mine looked better than I thought. I quickly started eating.

"So, after that story, do you have any tragic dating stories?" He laughed.

I shook my head and made a face.

"What?"

"Well, the truth is I've never really dated anyone," I admitted.

He just nodded and smiled. It didn't seem to bother him.

We had more in common than I thought. Over dinner we discussed what television shows we liked, which we found out neither of us really watched television much.

"Television is more of Rosalie's thing. And Emmett's, too, I suppose. If a football game is on, at least."

I discovered we had the same favorite song, as well. Clair de Lune. My mom had introduced me to it when I was younger.

"Are you ready to leave?" Edward asked, after we'd finally finished eating.

I nodded, a bit sad. I didn't want this night to end.

He smiled at my expression. "Don't worry, I have one more surprise."

I gave him a mystified look, but he didn't say anything. He just got the waiter's attention and asked for the check.

After leaving a very generous tip and paying for dinner, we made it back to the car and we drove in silence.

"Close your eyes," Edward said, looking over at me.

"But why?"

He smiled. "Trust me."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I heard him turn the car off, and the soft sound of his door shut and he was quickly at my door opening it, guiding me out and covering my eyes with one hand. He really didn't want me peeking, wherever we were.

"Oops, hold on," he said.

He kept his hand over my eyes, but I felt him lean away to open the car door and then I felt the jacket around my shoulders, still warm from the heat of the car.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

He started walking, me by his side. I was thankful for that, because I tripped a few times, but every time he caught me.

It wasn't a very long walk before we started slowing down. It probably would've been faster if I were more graceful.

"Okay, open your eyes."

He removed his hand from in front of my eyes, revealing the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

It was a small field that was mostly secluded, not quite visible from the road. The moonlight lit the place up more brightly that I thought imaginable, and made everything seem to sparkle. (**AN: Hahaha, sorry. Couldn't resist that.**)

"I know it's not much, but I wanted to show you this place. I found it a few weeks after we moved here, and I've come here nearly every night since. It looks much better in the sunlight, but I couldn't wait to show you."

I looked up at him, and he was smiling.

"It's... amazing. I'm not surprised you like to come here," I said, sitting down.

The grass was soft, not itchy like most grass. When you looked closely, you could see tiny flowers randomly throughout the grass. I couldn't even picture what this place would look like in the sunlight, if it was this pretty in the moonlight.

Edward sat down next to me and propped his arms on his knees.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, curious. He was being too quiet.

"You, mostly."

I blushed and looked down. It looked like I'd be doing a lot of blushing with Edward around.

I leaned over to put my head on his shoulder, looking up at first to see what his reaction would be. He smiled softly and put his arm around my shoulder.

We stayed like that for a while, just sitting, until it started getting so cold that I was shivering, despite Edward and his jacket.

He chuckled. "Right. Time to get you home."

I pouted silently, not ready to leave.

He stood up and gave me his hand to help me up, but when I was up he did something I wasn't expecting. He took his hand that wasn't in mine and lifted it to my face, just looking at me for a moment. Then, slowly leaned down and briefly brushed his lips against mine.

My heart felt like it would explode right out of my chest.

* * *

**AN: Woo! My longest chapter yet, even if it is only by a little bit.**

**Edward finally revealed his story. Haha, so many things in this chapter that were in Twilight. Review, please? You know you want to. :)**


	7. The Cullens

Was that a dream? Part of me woke up the next morning believing it was, but I wasn't so sure I was that creative. Even my dreams made more sense than that. There was no logical explanation for this, for why Edward wanted to be around me, of all people.

My head was buzzing.

I couldn't go through the rest of the day, or week for that matter, thinking I'd hear anything back from Edward after last night. Maybe it really _was_ a dream. I could have somehow gotten the idea from a book or a movie, since it played out like a fairy tale anyway. Possible.

Maybe that was a one time thing, and he just needed to vent his frustrations about Alaska and he chose to tell me because I'm new here, too, and I'd have no one to tell. Probable.

I stood up to go get some breakfast in me, since I was starting to hear my stomach growl. I should have stood up more slowly, but instead I got up quickly and had to catch myself on the door frame to keep from falling over.

"Hey, Bells!"

I found Jake in my kitchen searching for food, uninvited. Not that I minded, at least I could count on him.

"Morning," I said sleepily. What time had I gotten home last night? I'd forgotten to look, since I'd been so exhausted. I wouldn't have been surprised if Edward had to carry me in.

"Where were you last night?" he asked, face twisting in confusion and curiosity. "That friend you met the other day, or something?"

"Umm, almost."

"Almost? That's not very specific."

"Remember Edward?" When his facial expression still hadn't changed, I decided to elaborate. "You know, the one who came up and asked you for directions on our first day here? Around six two, reddish brown hair." I left out incredibly handsome for Jacob's sake. "Him."

I saw the figurative light bulb over his head go off, followed by that same flicker of some emotion I couldn't place, just like a few days ago. It was bugging me that it always left before I could figure it out.

"You were out on a date?" he said with disgust. "You barely even know the guy…," he trailed off. I didn't miss the disapproval in his voice.

"Okay, thank you father," I said with heavy sarcasm. "Does moving away from my biological dad mean I get a new one here? I think I'll pass. Thanks, though."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Be reasonable, Bella."

Jacob was starting to make me feel like I was thirteen again, instead of eighteen. "Since when am I not reasonable?" I was definitely getting aggravated rapidly.

"You don't even know him!" he protested. He opened his mouth to begin another argument, but there was a knock at the door that stopped him. "Who would be coming over this early?" Jacob asked, momentarily distracted from the fight he was intent on winning.

I shrugged, setting down my still untouched bowl of cereal on the counter. Only one way to find out.

Staring back at me was the angel of my dream last night. Or at least, a part of me believed that it was a dream. Now there was proof in front of my face that it was real. No avoiding this now.

"Good morning," he said, smirking like this had been the reaction he'd been expecting.

At those words I immediately realized that I was in my sweatpants and a T-shirt and blushed furiously, trying to fix my hair as best I could.

He smiled and reached out to grab my hand that was messing with my hair. Leaning down, he whispered, "You look fine. More than fine."

"Who's this?" Jacob walked over, curiosity getting the best of him. "Oh. Edward, right?" There was a hint of hostility in his voice. The reason, I couldn't imagine. He didn't even know Edward.

Edward lowered our hands but didn't let go and stepped inside, swiftly shutting the door. Nodding, he said, "I am. You're Jacob, I presume?"

Jacob nodded, and everything got quiet.

After a minute or so, Edward broke that silence. "Well, I came by to see if you would like to accompany me to breakfast before class, but if you already have plans, we could go another time. I should have called, but I wanted to surprise you."

Him and his perfect smile. How was that even a question?

"I don't have any plans. Jake just came over and decided to raid my refrigerator," I said, gesturing to Jacob who looked back at me innocently.

"But," I continued, "I do need to change."

He let go of my hand and went to sit down on the couch, showing that he would wait. I looked from Edward to Jacob, wondering if they would kill each other if I left, but if Edward was mad, he wasn't showing it in the least, he looked perfectly content. Jacob, however, was another story.

I gave up, silently praying Jacob wouldn't do anything rash, even though I knew he wouldn't. I couldn't understand why he was being so weird around Edward, and even at the mention of his name. I couldn't recall them talking other than the first time at school. Had something happened between them that I wasn't aware of?

Shaking my head, I picked up some jeans off the floor and pulled them on, followed by a clean shirt with a light jacket, since it was bound to be chilly. Without even looking in the mirror I knew my hair was unmanageable, so I quickly pulled it into a low ponytail again. I then sprinted to the bathroom, washed my face quickly and brushed my teeth.

Decent.

I skipped out again to the living room, as gracefully as was ever possible for me, to find that Jacob had left. When I asked why, Edward just shrugged and said he didn't know.

When we finally made it out, Edward pulled into a small breakfast diner.

I looked at the building and then back at him. "Hmm, classy."

"Would you prefer somewhere else?" He asked sadly.

The sound was heartbreaking.

"Of course not! Come on," I smiled, elbowing his arm gently.

He smiled back at me, and I swear it lit up the car.

We ordered two big plates of pancakes once we sat down at a small booth. The pancakes came, steam still radiating off of the two stacks, surprisingly. Both of us smothered the pancakes with much more syrup than necessary.

"You've met my family. So, when do I get to meet yours?" He asked casually, like it was no big deal.

I'm sure my eyes had gotten big as the pancakes at the mention of this, no matter how smoothly it was brought up. When I lived back in Forks I rarely brought friends home, much less any boyfriends. Not that I had ever dated anyone.

"What?"

"Your mom. Dad. Siblings, possibly?"

"I don't have any brothers or sisters," I was trying to dance around the topic. Unsuccessfully.

He rolled his eyes. "And?"

I sighed. "They don't even live in the state of Oregon. I moved here from Washington. Forks, to be exact," I explained.

"No worries. Fall break is in a few weeks, and then you can bring your new college boyfriend home to meet the parents, whom they will absolutely adore." He said it with a hint of sarcasm, but his tone and smile were both so confident that I almost believed him.

"I—," then something registered. "Wait, boyfriend?"

His smile faltered slightly. "That's the impression I got last night… Would you like a different title? Or no title at all?" At the last words his smile vanished completely.

"No, I just. I wasn't. I. It," I stuttered and then took a deep breath. "Took me by surprise, that's all. That title is perfectly fine with me."

He looked at me, seeming to consider if I was lying or not. I widened my eyes in innocence for effect and smiled. It seemed to work, because the brilliant smile reappeared on his face.

"It's settled then," he said.

I was hoping if I left the subject alone he would forget all about it. I had a few weeks to distract him from this little, yet highly dangerous trip he wanted to take. It would take more than a guilt trip for me to give in to this.

The day passed more quickly than I expected. Lectures and class work kept my mind busy, but before I knew it, it was over and I was free. I walked out of the classroom, planning on going home and possibly reading, to find Alice waiting for me.

"You aren't doing anything with Edward today, are you?" She eyed me carefully.

I shook my head. "I don't think so, why?"

She smiled in return. "Good. Now you are going to have the wonderful experience of shopping with Alice and Rosalie." She stretched her arms out and tilted her head back to the ceiling as she said this, like shopping was glorious.

I groaned, and Alice dropped her arms pouted. The Cullens must be experts at guilt trips, because both Edward and Alice could definitely make me feel guilty for something I didn't even do. Or maybe I was just a pushover. Either way, this was getting old.

"Alice, I let you dress me up the other night. Isn't that enough torture for a year, or even six months?"

"Come on, you'd think I was causing you physical pain," she said dropping the pouty look, and rolling her eyes.

"Trust me. It _does_ cause me physical pain."

My sarcastic remarks did no good. She dragged me along anyway.

Although they didn't force me to let them purchase anything, they still made me try nearly everything in the store on.

"Ooh, wait! What about that one?" Alice asked, pointing to a purple long sleeved shirt. It was the only reasonable thing she had picked out today. Everything else had been extreme dresses, and sequined shirts that I would never even think about wearing. This was the fourth store of the afternoon.

Rosalie put a finger to her chin and stared at the shirt, thinking about it. "I think she should go with blue," she said, grabbing the dark blue shirt off of the hanger and tossing it at me.

I quickly pulled it over my head and stepped out of the dressing room.

Their eyes popped and their jaws fell open.

"Is it really that bad?" I asked, looking down at myself. "It's okay. I can go change," I said, turning around to go back into the dressing room. I guess the shirt wasn't as reasonable as I thought it was.

"No, Bella, wait!" they called in unison.

I whipped around.

"It looks… amazing on you," Rosalie said, turning and looking at other colors the shirt came in.

Alice nodded her head in agreement and clapped twice. "You're getting it."

I didn't even complain. If this was the only thing they were going to make me get, I'd take it.

I put my clothes back on and took the shirt up to the register. I'd started looking in my bag I had slung over my shoulder for my wallet when Alice put her tiny hand on mine to stop me.

"It's on me!" she squealed, probably happy I was cooperating at all.

Alice swept the shirt up and practically bounced to the register, and Rosalie followed with her stack of things she had picked out. Which all looked amazing on her. Actually, she and Alice could wear _anything_ and it would look amazing on them. That was yet another downside of shopping with them.

"You never called me and told me how the date went," Alice pointed out before taking a small bite of her pizza, when we made it to the food court.

Oops. "I did? Oh, it was," I searched for a word that matched the evening, but all I came up with was, "nice." No words seemed to compare to any of it, no way to describe it.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Details?"

I grimaced, and began dissecting the night. Alice and Rosalie leaned forward, listening carefully and picking up on everything.

I got up to the part about the field when Rosalie stopped me. "Wait, so that's where he's been going for the past few months? We thought he was sneaking off to see some girl." They both snickered.

"She's just kidding, Bella," Alice reassured me. "He's been such a loner ever since…"

"Alaska. I know."

They both gave me surprised looks. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is it that surprising?"

They shook their heads and Alice replied, "Kind of. He never talks to anyone about his personal life, he hardly even talks to me. I have to drag it out of him, and I'm his sister!" she said, throwing her arms up in the air. "But he tells you on the first date? He must really like you."

Again with the pouting.

"Go on with the story," Rosalie urged.

I skipped over describing the field, because I was sure they didn't care. I told them about the kiss, though. Not detailed, of course.

"Really?" Rosalie asked at the same time Alice said, "This is wonderful!"

I nodded and felt my face heat up.

Rosalie and Alice reviewed everything and gushed about it like I wasn't even there. Which I was okay with, I just wanted to hurry up, eat and get home. Shopping wasn't my thing, too much of a workout for me.

I convinced them that four shops was enough for one day, and they agreed after some persuading. The condition was that I had to come eat dinner at their house, which wasn't such a bad deal. Edward would be there, and his parents seemed wonderful. What could it hurt?

The three of us walked through the front door of the house, and they set their bags down.

"Hey, girls. Dinner won't be ready for another thirty minutes or so," a woman with long, straight brown hair and a gorgeous heart-shaped face said, coming around the corner. She had warm brown eyes, very similar to mine. "Oh, you must be Bella. I'm Esme. Edward, Alice and Emmett's mother. Welcome, dear," she said, smiling at me.

No wonder all of them were so good-looking. I couldn't even imagine what Rosalie and Jasper's parents looked like, not that either of them even compared to Edward.

I followed Alice and Rosalie up to the second level and into a room I assumed was Emmett's. The walls were a medium shade of blue with various sports posters neatly placed on the walls. In the corner was a weight bench, and on the opposite wall was a TV and a game system. To my extreme surprise, the room was fairly clean. I expected the normal dirty room.

"Edward, GIVE UP!" Emmett complained.

I tried to figure out what they were doing, but all I could see is that they were playing a game that involved a guitar controller with five buttons, notes on the screen and loud rock songs. I looked at Alice, puzzled.

"Guitar Hero," she answered, rolling her eyes. "They're so competitive. Well, Emmett is, at least. Edward just likes seeing his reactions."

Oh.

Neither of them heard us, or paid us any attention, if they did. Both of their eyes were glued to the screen, absorbed in the game. Edward seemed to be hitting every single note with ease, smiling the whole time. Meanwhile Emmett was struggling, his face contorted in frustration.

The song ended and the scores came back, Edward winning by 25 percent.

"Damn it, Edward! What the hell, man? Again? Ugh!" Emmett said, throwing the guitar controller down. I couldn't help but giggle.

They both turned around, suddenly aware that they had company. Emmett's eyes got big, and he bent down to retrieve the controller and laid it against the wall. Then, with his hands balled into fists, he stalked out of the room muttering to himself. "JASPER!" I heard him yell from the staircase.

Edward chuckled and came and put his arms around me, pressing his lips against my forehead. "I didn't know you'd be here."

I looked over at Rose and Alice, both had their eyebrows raised and a smile on their faces. They quickly giggled and left. I sighed.

"What was that about?" he asked.

I shrugged, not really wanting to tell him that I'd given in and told them everything, but no doubt he'd find out later. I looked at the clock on the wall. "Isn't it time for dinner?"

We walked, hand in hand, down to the large oval kitchen table. The places were already set, and there was a bowl of salad at each spot. Numerous big dishes were placed along the table with different vegetables, along with a plate with tons of hot rolls.

Carlisle walked in, carrying a huge plate. Steaks, I saw, once he'd lowered the plate down to the middle of the table, so everyone could reach it. I stared at the meal in awe. It was like going to a restaurant, but at home.

Edward laughed loudly. "Just so you know, we don't eat like this every night. I think someone gave my parents a heads up," he said, looking over at Alice and Rosalie.

They both saw us staring at them and they looked back and forth between us, then started their own conversation, pretending they didn't have a clue what we were talking about.

I sat down, in between Edward and Alice. Rosalie sat in front of me, and Emmett was to her right, and Carlisle and Esme to her left. Everyone had begun to shovel different things on their plates and broke out in to separate conversations.

"Help yourself, Bella," Carlisle said. "There's plenty to go around."

As I was scooping mashed potatoes onto the middle of my plate, Emmett decided he wanted pay back for getting beat earlier. "Bella? Did Edward ever tell you about the time he—,"

"Emmett," Edward warned.

"It's seriously funny! He—,"

"_Emmett_," Edward cut him off again, warning more severely this time.

Emmett ignored him. "Jasper and I were trying to get him to stop being such a wimp, so we took him out to a random store, found some _really_ hot girls," then noticing the glare from Rose, "not has hot as you, of course. Anyway, Jasper pushed him to go talk to them all, and I guess he got all nervous. So, he starts to introduce himself as he's walking towards them, and he missed the 'CAUTION: Wet Floor!' sign so, he slips, and falls face forward into the ladies' lingerie." Emmett roared with laughter, and Jasper joined in.

I saw Esme glance over at Carlisle, both of them pretending they hadn't heard a word of it. They started a conversation of their own, or so it appeared.

I looked over at Edward, by eyebrows raised. He was looking down at his hands, blushing. Edward Cullen was blushing. Who knew it was possible? I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips.

"Looks like we have something in common, then," I said through the small laughs.

"Not quite. I'm not always that clumsy. You are," he replied, touching his index finger to the tip of my nose. He had a point.

Edward and Jasper were still laughing.

* * *

**AN: Hahaha, okay. There's a part in this chapter that credit goes to TwilightTEENS for the idea. I saw a thread about it, and got a vivid mental image, and had to write it down. Some of you will know exactly what part I'm talking about :)**

**Review!  
**


	8. Awkward

**AN: Ah! It's been forever since I updated, I know. I'm sorry. I just hadn't been in the mood to write, and if I had written, it would have turned into complete crap. And that wouldn't have been good. BUT! I plan on updating in the next few days. So, I'm redeeming myself.. haha  
**

**Thanks to Madi (mssingsinhersleep) for becoming my beta and helping me a lot with this chapter!**

* * *

The three weeks I had expected to drag along actually flew by, much to my dismay. I was hoping for more time to find a way out of Edward's request to meet my parents. I knew Renee would probably be happy for me, but Charlie would probably turn quite a few shades of purple, out of anger. Especially since I met Edward at college, Charlie would think he was the typical fraternity, party boy. How wrong he would be.

Before I knew it, Edward was reminding me about it, asking what day we would leave. Of course he wouldn't forget.

"I'm not sure. It's not break yet, is it?" I asked nervously.

He laughed quietly. "No. Tomorrow afternoon it will be, though."

Tomorrow? Hadn't it just been last week that he'd asked me about it to begin with? These days seemed to blur together, only aware of what day it really was when I was away from Edward.

"So are we leaving Friday or Saturday?" he asked, idly playing with a strand of my hair.

I sighed heavily. "You aren't going to give this up are you?" When he smiled I took it as a no. "Fine. Friday." The sooner we left, the sooner it would be over with.

"Friday it is." His voice was triumphant, and I just glared. Not for long, though. I could never stay mad at Edward.

After giving up, I sighed and walked toward my room where my phone was. There would be no easy way to do this, so I decided to call Renee first. At least this was safe, she was almost guaranteed to be supportive.

"Bella!" She greeted me when she finally answered. "You haven't called in a few days. Are you all right? Did anything happen?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, mom, relax. College life has just been busy, you know?" I laughed, hoping it didn't sound as nervous as I was. "So, um, you don't have any plans for tomorrow do you?"

"Can't say that I do. Oh, tomorrow's Friday isn't it?" I pictured her slapping herself on the forehead. Sounds like something she would do. "And Friday starts your time off from school. Do you plan on coming home?"

"Of course!" I said, a little eager. I really missed Renee and Charlie. "But," I started off warily, "there's one thing. I… sort of have a boyfriend. And I wanted him to meet you and dad." I cringed, expecting the worst.

"Oh, Bella! It's about time! All through high school you never dated anyone, I was getting a little disappointed."

Thanks, mom.

"What's his name? Is he cute? How did you meet him? At school?" I was right in expecting the worst.

"His name is Edward. But don't you think we should save all that for when we get there? I mean, it wouldn't be good if we ran out of things to talk about." I was dodging the questions.

"Right, got it. I'll call Charlie and fill him in."

If she had been near me, I would have tackled her in a hug.

We said our good-byes after I had finished filling her in on the days that I hadn't had time to call her, and then we hung up.

I let out a deep breath, and sank back down in front of the couch next to Edward, once I was back in the living room.

"Friday," was all I said.

He reached over and gently turned my face towards him, and smiled. Just as he was leaning down, I heard a key in the front door, and heard it swing open from behind me.

Perfect timing, I thought dryly. I pulled back and sighed. At that moment in time, I wanted to smack Jacob in the head.

--

I was pulled out of my deep sleep by cool hands touching my face. Still groggy, I managed to force my eyelids open enough to make out the dim light the sun made coming in through my heavy curtains in the window, and to see a handsome Edward staring back at me, smiling. He was perfectly awake already, and at my house?

"Wake up, sleepy head."

I groaned and sat up, still trying to fully wake up.

"Ten-thirty in the morning? Why?" Wasn't it punishment enough that he was meeting them in the first place? Apparently not.

He shrugged, still smiling. "I wanted to get there before dinner time."

"How did you even get in?"

"I saw the spare key under the mat you keep. You know, that's probably not very safe, maybe you should keep it elsewhere. I don't like the idea of anyone else noticing that key, and coming in," he suggested thoughtfully.

Playfully pushing him out of the way, I dragged myself out of bed, grabbing a towel, some jeans and clean shirt. I made my way to the shower, taking as long as possible. The hot water was calming and everyone knew I needed that today. Who knew why I worried so much? All I knew is that there probably wouldn't be any dull moments today.

Only getting out once the hot water had run out, I towel dried my hair and combed it, not bothering to blow dry it. It would be just as rainy as it always was today. It would be a wasted effort.

I looked at the clock. 11:45. Wow, I usually never took too long getting ready. I was procrastinating, and bad.

"Would you like some help packing?" Edward asked, walking into my room, from the living room.

I shook my head and smiled. "Nope, all packed. I had nothing to do last night."

"Well, I'll just have to take them out to the car, then."

I raised an eyebrow. I hated when he acted like I was helpless.

His hand headed toward my bag on the floor. "Not so fast, mister," I said, reaching down and picking up the bag and throwing it on my back. I angled my face upward, hoping it made me look more intimidating, though I doubted it. "I am perfectly capable of taking my bags out myself, thank you very much."

His lips pressed into a tight line, holding back a smile. "Oh, really? I know of a way to fix that," he said, finally smiling.

At first I thought he was going to kiss me, and try to persuade me out of it, but as soon as his face was level with mine, he reached down and swept me off my feet, carrying me bridal style. I pouted.

"You don't give up, do you?"

Outside was, as I had predicted, cloudy and damp. Thankfully it wasn't raining yet, or else Edward and I would have both been drenched.

Helping him put my bags along with his in the trunk of the Volvo, I heard the sound of shoes on the pavement, walking up behind me. I turned around to see Jacob running down towards us from his apartment, I imagined.

"Hey, Bells! Edward," he greeted us. "Here." He, without asking, threw his one bad in the trunk with ours and walked toward the right back door, about to get in. He raised an eyebrow. "Are we leaving now?"

I shot a questioning glance at Edward, wondering if he had invited Jacob. It wouldn't have made sense, but then again, nothing was making sense lately. If they had, I wouldn't have had Edward standing next to me. Edward looked from me, to Jacob and back again, his expression mirroring mine.

"Jake? How did you know we were going home?" I finally asked after a minute of silence.

"Charlie. I talked to him last night, and he invited me to come along."

I felt like I was about to start laughing uncontrollably, because it made so much sense. I knew Charlie wouldn't have been happy, and wouldn't trust Edward. He was sending Jake to spy for him, and he was more than happy to.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, trying to calm down.

Edward put his lips next to my ear and whispered, "Come on, it won't be so bad." Then slowly kissed behind my ear.

I looked up at him and smiled slightly. "All right, fine. Let's get this show on the road," I said, moving to take the passenger seat, and Edward slid into the drivers side.

Before Edward started the car, he and I started debating on whether we should listen to Bach or Debussy on the way there, when Jacob poked his head in between our seats and said, "Seriously? Classical? No way. Here, put this in."

He handed me an unlabeled CD, so I had no idea what was on it. Cautiously, I put the CD in the player and hit play.

"Track two," Jacob said, leaning back into the back seat with his hands behind his head, a smug smile on his face.

I turned it up, since I couldn't hear it, but my hand slipped and accidentally made it go much louder than I had intended.

_I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby,__  
But you keep fronting,  
__Saying what you going do to me,  
But I ain't seen nothing_

It was unbearably loud, almost shaking the car frame. I realized what song it was and heard the lyrics, blushing furiously. Quickly, and not so swiftly, I ejected the CD.

_I'm telling you loosen up my butto—_

"Jacob!" I yelled, throwing the CD back at him. "What the hell is this?" I looked back at him, expecting a response.

Was he _trying_ to irritate me to death? Or at the very least, die of embarrassment.

"Chill, Bella," he said, his eyes wide with fake innocence. "I like that song. Just the idea of—," he cut himself off when he noticed the deathly glare I was shooting him. I didn't even want to know how he would have finished that sentence.

Edward was looking back at Jacob, smirking, and seemed to be considering something. Then he abruptly leaned over and kissed me with force. This was new, usually our kisses were short and sweet, but I was much more than happy to respond to this.

I leaned into him, trying to further intensify the kiss, and he ran his hand slowly up my thigh, I shivered a little. All too soon, he pulled away and glanced back at Jacob, still smirking, with an eyebrow raised.

I blushed, realizing that was in full view of Jacob. I turned my head to see him staring wide-eyed at me, only this time it was in complete and utter shock rather than false innocence. He immediately began to pout, and stared out the window, as Edward put Debussy in.

I kept my head straight ahead, but looked over at him from the corner of my eyes, as he started the car and began to back up. "Nice."

He held a small smile on his lips. "Hmm?"

I laughed as I slowly shook my head, and stared out the window, as well.

It was no longer than thirty minutes when Jacob popped his head back in between the seats, back to his cheerful self. "Hey! Let's play that alphabet road game. Umm, A! Automotive shop!" he said, pointing to a sign that, indeed, said 'automotive shop.'

I couldn't believe him, I'd never seen him act like this before. Was he… was he _jealous_? No, I couldn't see why he would be. I immediately felt stupid for even having the thought. He'd had girlfriends before, and that never bothered me, I knew that we were just best friends, and that was how I wanted it. This was the same as always, but I had never seen Jacob act like this before. Maybe he was just in a bad mood, or something.

Neither Edward or I played Jacob's silly car games, but he continued to find signs, following down the alphabet, not noticing that he was playing by himself.

At long last, we finally arrived at Charlie's house. Oh, boy.

Well, it couldn't get any worse, right?

Charlie came outside as soon as we pulled up; he'd probably been watching for us. He was wearing a blue flannel shirt and old jeans that I can remember him having for years.

"Bells!" He caught me in a full out hug, and when he noticed this, he stepped back with a cough and blushed a little. There was no denying that I was related to him, where else would I have gotten my infamous blush?

I saw Renee come out from inside, too.

"Mom? I thought you'd be at home, we planned on coming to see you tomorrow."

She smiled warmly. "No need. Your dad and I have talked it over, and I'll be staying here while you're home. Much easier for us all to be together."

My eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "But there's only two rooms."

"Nope," she said, shaking her head and smiling. "After you left, Charlie got bored. Renovated the basement into a nice room. I'll be sleeping down there." Charlie nodded.

"Well, that's convenient. Oh! Mom, dad. This is Edward," I said, pushing him towards them a little.

Edward went to shake Renee's hand, but she ignored it and gave him a hug. Well, that was my mom for you.

"It's nice to meet you, Edward."

"Nice to meet you, too, ma'am," Edward said, polite as ever. I figured he wasn't sure what to call her by, seeing as how I never told him her last name, only that my parents were divorced.

"Call me Renee, of course."

"Chief Swan," Edward continued, looking over at Charlie with a smile on his face.

Charlie grunted, obviously still not pleased about me dating anyone. He was probably mad because he couldn't find any logical reason to be rude to Edward, but no doubt he would be anyway. "Edward," he finally acknowledged his presence.

Edward walked over to the trunk of the Volvo and handed me my own bag, obviously not wanting me to argue with him anymore and I smiled, feeling successful.

"Well come on you three!" Renee said. "It's pretty cold out here, and getting sick on your break wouldn't be fun at all. Oh, and I'm making dinner tonight!"

I shot an extremely panicked look at Charlie and he shook his head. Once we were inside, he pointed to a box of some sort, and I realized that she was just heating up dinner, not actually making it, and I let out a sigh of relief. I highly doubted that her cooking skills had improved that much since I'd been off at school.

"It's only three in the afternoon, mom. We have a while until dinner."

I parted ways with everyone else to run up to my room to put my stuff down and freshen up a bit.

The room was just as I had left it, only missing my small bookcase, as it was in my room back in Oregon. The sheets had been changed on the bed, though, due to Renee. I only knew this because Charlie only did laundry when absolutely necessary.

I went into the small bathroom that was down the hall. I quickly washed my face and combed the few knots out that were in my hair. Staring back at myself in the mirror, I realized I looked different. Beneath the slight nervousness, I looked more alive than usual. Brighter.

I skipped back downstairs, lightened up a portion by what I had come to realize. I found Edward, Jacob and Charlie in conversation in front of the couch. Uh-oh, I probably needed to go check this out.

"I told you on the phone last night. Billy is off on vacation with the Clearwaters. No key," Jacob held up his hands, as if to prove it.

"Hm," Charlie said, putting his hand up to his chin. "I guess one of you will either have to sleep on the floor, or you could always both sleep on the pull out bed on the sofa." He shrugged. "Decide yourselves."

Jacob narrowed his eyes at Edward, and Edward looked calm, as always. I needed to step in before Jacob got pissed off, and decided to start a fight right here in Charlie's house.

"Umm, bonding?" I asked, trying to make a joke.

Jacob's eyes went bright when he noticed me in the room, and he was no longer glaring at Edward, but Edward still didn't look too happy.

I walked over to him and stood on my tip toes, kissing his cheek, then sliding my arms around him. "Have fun while I was gone?"

He chuckled a little. "That's one way of describing it."

"Ugh, get a room," Jacob complained. I was grateful to the fact that Charlie was no longer in the room.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Renee poke her head out from the kitchen door way. "Dinner's ready!" she said, excitedly.

Since we all couldn't fit at Charlie's small kitchen table, we took our plates and sat in various places in the living room. Edward and I on the love seat; Charlie, Renee and Jacob on the couch.

Charlie and Jacob seemed to be intensely focused on a football game on the television, but I didn't really take Edward as a sports guy. I was right, the entire game, he barely even glanced in the direction of the TV. He was more focused on thinking about the questions Renee shot at him, and answering them.

Questions such as, _What's your major? What do your parents do? Where are you from? How many siblings do you have?_ The basics.

In all honesty, I didn't even pay attention to the questions. I just marveled in the face that Renee seemed to like him, and that Charlie wasn't chasing him out the door with a gun.


	9. Sleeping Arrangements

**AN: Hmm, okay. Keep in mind this is more of a filler chapter since it isn't as long as the others.

* * *

**

EPOV:

Dinner had gone far better than I had imagined. Yes, I had wanted to meet her family, but I thought I would have had to win them over. I suppose I still had a bit of proving to do to Charlie, since he was still seemed wary, but at least he wasn't kicking me out of his house. And Renee acted like I was part of the family instantly.

I smiled at that last thought.

Unfortunately, Jacob was more obstinate than I gave him credit for. He, apparently, had been trying to irritate me to death the entire trip. He had feelings for Bella, it was obvious. I knew that from the minute I met him, the only question truly being was whether or not they were reciprocated.

So, to further annoy me, he had decided he wanted to sleep on the pullout bed that was on the couch. As much as I would have liked to argue with Jacob and sleep on the couch, I knew it would probably upset Bella, and it certainly would not help me win over her parents.

Since I had already changed into the fancy pajamas that Alice had given me, I decided I was ready for bed. Bella already had, and Jacob would be soon. I started laying the layers of sheets neatly out on the floor a few feet away from the couch.

"Aah," Jacob sighed, sinking into the sheets on the pullout.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned away from him, trying to get my anger under control. I could not let him see how much he bothered me. If I did, he would never give up. But if I showed no reaction, he would probably get bored and give up.

Shaking my head slightly I snapped out of it, and smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Jacob," I said, in the most polite voice I could manage.

He snorted. "Yeah, okay. Night, douche."

I went to lay on the floor, turning the other direction and smiling without humor. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could handle without beating the hell out of Jacob.

Seconds ticked by. Then the seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes hours. I had never had much trouble sleeping before, but I was keyed up and distracted. The thought that Bella was a few steps away, just up the stairs was keeping me from drifting off.

I wondered what she looked like in her sleep. Was it really possible for her to be any more beautiful? Probably not, but I pictured it in my head. Her mahogany hair, gently waving across her pillowcase; the glow of her flawless, pale skin in the moonlight shining through her window; but most importantly, the look of complete and utter peace upon her face.

It was a brilliant picture.

After this, I couldn't help myself. Once I heard Jacob's loud snores, and the house was otherwise silent, I decided to silently go up to her room.

I set the covers down on the floor and turned the light off, so if Jacob woke up, he wouldn't look over and realize I was gone. No doubt, if he found this, he would report it back to Chief Swan. I was playing it safe, not feeling like risking anything.

Walking as quietly as I could up the stairs took longer than I thought it would, but once I reached her door, and cracked it open, I realized it was worth the patience.

The sight was ten times more beautiful than I had imagined, my mind's eye did her no justice.

"Edward," she mumbled.

I immediately was afraid I had woken her, but when she sighed and rolled back over, I realized she was just sleep talking. She had mentioned this to me before, but I had never heard her, as she had never been asleep around me.

I turned around facing back towards downstairs, contemplating on whether I should turn right around or not. I felt immensely guilty for even coming in the first place. What kind of creep watches someone sleep? I do, apparently. I should have stayed downstairs, and woken Jacob up instead. At least he deserved it.

Just as I was ready to creep silently back down and attempt sleep again, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.

Looking back in surprise, I saw Bella staring back at me with a smile on her face. I couldn't decide which was more beautiful, Bella asleep, or Bella awake. I think they came in at a tie.

She put her index finger up to her lips, warning me to be quiet, and shot a paranoid glance down the hall towards her father's room. She relaxed a little when he heard his muffled snores come from behind his door.

She looked once more down at his door, and then reached out to grab my arm and pulled me in her room, shutting the door.

I whispered just loud enough so that Bella could hear me. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just…" I just what? Came up here to act like a stalker and watch you sleep? I should have thought of a story before hand.

She nodded propping her arm up on the frame of her bed.

BPOV:

Truth be told, I was self-conscious beyond belief. I was sure my hair looked like a rumpled mess, and I was wearing old sweats that were two sizes too big on me. And here he was standing in my room, in expensive looking silk pajamas and perfectly disheveled hair. I doubted I would find anyone as close to perfect as he was.

No, not close to perfect. He was perfection itself.

He was still staring at me warily, he was waiting for my response. I just leaned on the side of my bed and nodded, not entirely sure what to say. I thought it was cute that he came up here, but I couldn't see any reason why he would. It obviously wasn't a pleasant sight.

We stood in silence for at least a full five minutes. Then slowly, he reached over and bushed the length of my cheekbone with his fingertips, as light as a feather. I felt my face heat up instantly, and I could only imagine how red my face was. I adverted my eyes and looked at the ground.

"So why aren't _you_ asleep?" I asked half accusingly, half joking.

He shrugged and looked at the ceiling. "I was just thinking," he said, vaguely.

I inched closer to him without noticing. "About?"

He looked at me then like I was missing something very obvious. I blushed for the second time within two minutes.

"Me?"

He nodded, and looked me in the eye.

At that moment could feel the electrical current surging through the room more than I ever had before. Even more than in the car, or even when I first met Edward. It was mind-blowing, and I couldn't help myself anymore. I suddenly forgot all of my self consciousness I'd had seconds before, crushing my lips to his. The impact of my recklessness forced him down on the bed, and I fell with him, giggling quietly in between kisses.

He eventually pulled back and looked at me with a half bewildered expression, which immediately turned into a smile. He then rolled over so that I was laying on the bed instead, but he put no weight on me, just enough so that we were touching.

I traced his face with my fingers, then over his jaw line and then the perfect line of his collarbone, all while his perfect lips were moving quickly, yet somehow softly, with mine.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and I blushed more than the two previous times combined. Did I really just do that? Then I started to panic. Who was at my door? I began thinking that we had woken Charlie up, but then I realized it was Jake, and I calmed down. He sounded like he was half asleep.

"Bells?"

He knocked for a second time, and I started to panic again. If he saw Edward in here, he would definitely tell Charlie, since I was almost one hundred percent sure that was the reason he was here in the first place. There was no chance of him keeping it to himself, seeing as how I would bet he would do anything to make Edward look bad.

Looking at Edward, I could tell he assumed the same.

I got up and pointed to the closet door and Edward successfully opened, got in, and shut the closet door, all without making one sound.

I walked to the door and opened it, yawning, acting as if I had just woken up. Suspicions would probably rise if I were awake at 2 in the morning with all the lights off, and nothing to occupy my time. Everyone knew I usually passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow, so not being able to sleep wouldn't be an excuse.

He looked at me and then hung his head, looking thoroughly upset about something. But what, I could not fathom. Jacob never felt bad about anything. He was the most carefree person I knew, besides my mother, and that's what I liked about him. He balanced me out.

"I," he began, but then stopped, seeming to try to put something into words. He sighed, "I just wanted to apologize. Really. I know I was a jerk on the car ride here… and probably during dinner too, _he's_ just…," Jacob trailed off, running a hand through his hair. Something he always did when he was frustrated.

At the mention of 'he,' I knew he meant Edward and my eyes narrowed. It was insanely hard to whisper and yell at the same time, but somehow I managed it. "What, Jacob? He's just what? If you just came up here to parent me some more on who I should and shouldn't date then you can just—."

I was cut off by what sounded like a muffled sneeze that came from behind me. My eyes widened momentarily, but I refused to look behind me and give it away. Jacob's eyebrows furrowed, casting his eyes into shadows in the darkness, looking confused. I coughed lightly and tilted my head to the side, waiting for his brilliant reply.

"Hey, I don't even know where I was going with that. I just wanted to… apologize."

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. There had to be more to this; a catch.

He sighed again, and faced the stairs again. "All right, I get it. I guess we can talk about this tomorrow. Night," he said halfheartedly.

I shut my door again and walked back to the closet.

"I believe I should be going, before he decides to turn a light on and notice that I'm gone."

I pouted, and he just chuckled.

"Don't worry, love. I'll see you in the morning," he smiled, and before walking gracefully out the door, he placed one light kiss on my forehead and one on the top of my head.

Once I heard the door quietly shut for the last time, I laid back down on the bed and curled up beneath the sheets.

I realized I had just been horrible to Jacob. He had come up here honestly trying to apologize. Or at least I think he was, anyway. My anger was irrational, I didn't even hear him out! I wanted to slap myself. I'd just wind up trying to make it up to him tomorrow by apologizing, and probably making him food, or something. I hated when Jacob was mad at me. It didn't feel right.

EPOV:

I walked back into the small living room, and I thanked the heavens that the lights were still off. No matter what Jacob had just said to Bella, he still didn't like me.

I sank back in between my makeshift pallet on the floor, all while listening to Jacob's obnoxious snores. I didn't even know it was possible for any person to fall asleep that fast. Perhaps he was asleep to begin with, and he was sleep talking upstairs.

After several minutes, I decided there would be no hope of sleep for me if the snoring continued. I didn't want to walk around tomorrow looking like the living dead. And if I was being honest with myself, all I probably needed was to vent the anger I felt towards Jacob.

I quickly kicked the edge of the sofa bed, making Jacob shoot up in surprise, looking around like he was in a foreign land, instead of his best friend's living room.

"What the hell, dude?!" He yelled after he recovered from the initial shock.

I smiled. "You might want to lower your voice a bit, Charlie and Renee are sleeping," I said calmly and gestured in both of the directions to the appropriate rooms. "And besides, I wouldn't have been surprised if your snores woke up the entire house. Maybe even the neighbor's dog."

He glared and threw an extra pillow at my face, which I quickly caught.

"Ugh!" he said, flopping back down and pulling his pillow over his face. He reminded me of an un-behaved eight year old who wasn't getting his way. If I wasn't quite so irritated, I would have found it comical.

"Thank you for this, by the way," I said, lifting the pillow up. Even though my voice was calm, it was dripping with sarcasm. "I did need another pillow. I wasn't sure one would have been enough."

--

(the next afternoon)

BPOV:

"Jacob? Please talk to me?"

Edward was still sleeping, I guessed he hadn't gone to sleep until a couple hours before I woke up. I wanted to let him sleep, so I had been using my time trying to apologize, which was not going too smoothly, at the moment.

He had been avoiding me all morning, and now I had cornered him in front of the television. I knew I had been a little mean last night, but I didn't think I had upset him this much. As a matter of fact, I didn't even remember a whole lot of what I said. It had been late, and I'd still been sort of dizzy from the after effects of Edward.

I shook Jacob's shoulder and sat next to him. "Please?"

I must have sounded utterly pathetic, because he finally turned to me. His eyes were a mix between hurt and sadness. "What, Bella?"

"I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

I shook my head slowly. "It was just really tired and, well, I _was_ still irritated at you."

He grimaced, obviously feeling at least a little bad for what he'd done.

"Forgiven?" I asked, hopefully.

"What's in it for me?" he asked, giving me a playful smile. I knew I was forgiven.

I put my index finger to my chin, pretending to think it over. "Hmm, what would you suggest Mr. Black?" I asked, laughing. "I've been begging for your forgiveness the whole morning, what else is there?"

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "The beach? For old times sake?"

* * *

**Okay, I'm not going to lie. I had a lot of fun with the Jacob/Edward parts. Anyway, review! I love hearing what you guys think.**


End file.
